This may come as a shock to those who’ve known and loved Maganlal’s Chikki in Lonavala; the popular brand has been asked to stop making chikkis by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports the Times of India. The Maganlal Food Products need to complete the required documentation, ensure cleanliness and product safety before they can start manufacturing chikki once again.

Maganlal Chikki To Pause Business

“We found that they have not appointed a well-qualified person to supervise the manufacturing process to ensure that the products are safe and provide wholesome food,” Suresh Deshmukh, Joint Commissioner, Pune told the Times of India. “There was no laboratory to test the products. So we served notices on Maganlal Food Products that manufactures chikki, jelly and fudge.” “They manufactured products in an unclean and dirty environment,” said another official from the FDA. “They did not know whether the water they were using was potable. So, we served them a notice on Tuesday asking them to stop production and sale of their products until they fulfil the conditions of the Food Safety and Standards Act.”

“We have been told to stop production and distribution until we fulfil certain conditions,” said Ashok Agarwal, owner of Maganlal while speaking to the Times of India. “The inspection team found some lacunae in documentation, which we will fulfil in three to four days and resume production. We have a licence for packaging but they have told us to get a licence for manufacturing and packaging. On Tuesday evening itself, I made an online application for the licence.”

“We obtained the requisite licence for transportation on Tuesday. We were following the old FDA norms. But now new FSSAI norms have come into force and we will follow those now onward. Even so, we feel we will face a loss of around Rs.50 lakh, per day,” he added.